Lawrence-Nelson FFA Chapter

The State FFA Convention was held March 28, 29 and 30 in Lincoln, Nebraska.  The chapter had twenty-seven participants.  

The Agriscience team was James Mazour, Dakota Frahm-Thayer, Jared Schendt and Carlie Mazour.  Each team member had to write an agricultural career report, dissect a flower, label parts of a monocot and dicot steam, label parts of a leaf and take a test over plant science.  The team was 29th out of 71 teams.  The team received a red ribbon.  There were 322 participants.  James was 68th and received a blue ribbon. Carlie was 103rd and received a red ribbon.  Jared was 140th and received a white ribbon.  Dakota was 185th.

The Farm Management team was Kasandra Fanning, Jacob Himmelberg, TJ Kahman and David Kimminau.  Each student took a one-hundred question test over business principles like liquidity ratios, solvency ratios, net worth statements, supply and demand, etc.  The team was 16th out of 57 teams and received a red ribbon.  Jacob earned a blue ribbon and was 48 out of 216 students.  The other three team members received a red ribbon.  Kasandra was 67th, David was 87th and TJ was 88th. 

Kara Himmelberg, Shane Ostidiek, Austin Mazour and Daniel Schroer were on the Natural Resources team. The team was 19th out of 62 teams.  The team took a test over natural resources principles and concepts.  There were 248 contestants.  Daniel received a blue ribbon and placed 38th.  Shane also received a blue ribbon and was 84th.  Austin was 130th and earned a red ribbon.  Kara received a white ribbon and was 134th.

The Agricultural Sales team sold JUG waterers to a customer in a mock sale.  They completed a team sales practicum and a test.  The team received third place out of 38 teams!  Kenzee Kucera was the top individual earning a purple ribbon.  Stephen Kimminau earned a purple ribbon and was the third place individual.  Maekayla Ward received a red ribbon and was 56th.  Seth Kathman was 79th.  There were 148 students competing in this event.

The Meat Judging team consisted of Wyatt Weichman, Levi Schroer, Emet Fanning and Ashley Buescher.  The team did quality grades on beef, pork and lamb carcasses, priced beef carcasses, identified thirty cuts of meat, completed a test, ranked a class of hams and a class of steaks.  There were 81 teams competing and 324 individuals.  The Lawrence/Nelson team received a purple ribbon and ranked 7th.  Levi was 12th, Ashley was 35th, Emet was 44th and Wyatt was 158.

Congratulations to the State Champions of Livestock Management!  Cole Epley, Lane Schroer, Levi Schroer, David Kimminau, Kasandra Fanning and Jacob Himmelberg earned first place of 38 teams in Livestock Management!  The team had to identify breeds, tools, feeds and management questions in beef, equine, dairy, poultry, sheep and swine.  This team will represent Nebraska at the National Vet Science contest in Indianapolis, IN at the National FFA Convention in October.

The Agronomy team identified crops, weeds, machinery, insects, and plant diseases.  The team was Michael Jacobitz, Wyatt Thayer, Joshua Himmelberg and Dillon Menke.  There were 80 team and 320 individuals.  Wyatt earned a blue ribbon and was 62nd. Josh was 141st and received a white ribbon.  Michael was 253rd and Dillon was 274th.  

The Ag Communications team listened to a thirty minute press conference and created media based off that presentation.  Carlie Mazour created a press release.  She was 11th out of the 24 contestants in the writing section.  Maekayla Ward created a storyboard for a website.  She was 16th out of the 24 in the web design section.  Kenzee Kucera was 3rd in the broadcasting section.  The team was 11th out of 26 teams.

Five seniors earned their State FFA Degree.  This degree is the highest award the state can bestow on its members.  Congratulations on a great Convention!